Life is a story. There are good parts & there are bad, there are happy chapters & there are sad. Sometimes you hold your breath when the plot thickens and sometimes you sigh when there are long gaps in-between. Every day is like turning the next page, there is the anticipation that this could be the best part. Everyone has a story. This is mine.

Lilypie First Birthday tickers

Monday, November 26, 2007

Yesterday, M. came over to our home with his mom. The purpose of his visit was for him to ask my parents’ permission to marry my sister. This is what is known in the Filipino culture as “pamanhikan” (although M., being Caucasian, probably did not know this). It started off a little awkward but turned into a really special and significant event. M. was clearly very nervous but his heartfelt sincerity came through. He was so serious and earnest but later on was practically beaming when my parents consented. I was on the edge of my seat since I knew it was a bittersweet event. Of course, we are thrilled since M. is a great guy and has proven his genuine feelings and commitment towards my sister. Plus the fact that my sister is happy (I mean really happy) and this is a wonderful time for her. But on the other hand, I can not begin to imagine how torn up my parents must be. I know they are honestly happy for M. and my sister and comforted that M.’s family has expressed such a warm welcome and has extended staunch promises to take care of my sister. But as parents, I know they are also sad to be “losing a daughter” and quite worried that everything will turn out okay. I know the hardest thing for them is having my sister leave home to come stay here and experience a totally different way of life.

But my folks have proven once again that they have our best interests at heart. So even if they must have heavy hearts, they have put aside their personal feelings and are totally supportive and encouraging. My dad has optimistically said that he doesn’t look at this time as one where he is losing a daughter but instead is happy to be gaining a son. While my mom has been practical about the whole matter while saying that there is a reason for everything and that they only want my sister to be happy in the end. I tried to lighten the mood and reassure my folks that since my sister will be living here, I will do my best to make sure I look out for her and be there for her if and when she needs me. Since we are naturally close, I know my sister and I will be there for each other. But my reassurance is also because I feel some pangs of guilt – since for starters I was the first to leave home (and now it seems most of my siblings are following in my footsteps).

I guess it is a natural course in life that kids eventually leave home. I know that parents look forward to this day but at the same time also wish this day would never come. I know that they must be happy yet worried, thrilled but anxious, hopeful and scared. And for us kids too, the mixed feelings are there, we are also happy and sad, excited yet nervous, and despite our adult-like bravado, we also find ourselves wishing we could stay with mom and dad forever. The only consolation I can think of is that in our case, my parents have done exceptional jobs at raising us and that their love, guidance, support and encouragement has prepared us to move on and live our lives for ourselves. I think that at the end of the day, the true test of parenthood is letting your kids go, confidently knowing that you have done all you can and now you have to trust them to go their own way.

I am so, so happy for M. and my sister, knowing that they have each other. It’s not always easy to find the right person to spend the rest of your life with and even when you do, every relationship still faces ups and downs. In all honestly, it may be a little bit tougher for us, since we grew up with such high standards of marriage, after all we have our parents’ almost-perfect relationship to look up to. But on the bright side, having my folks show us that a contented and blissful marriage is one filled with compromise, understanding and commitment, means we have something to guide us along the way. I wish my sister and M. that same kind of contentment and bliss.

Monday, November 19, 2007

Since my parents have been here, there have been many things going on. Many new wonderful places we've discovered and many old favorites we've revisited. Many good meals at restaurants we've shared and many awesome home-cooked meals we've savored. Many long conversations and much laughter. Several shopping sprees and sightseeing excursions. And of course, even if I could not take every day off from the office, there's the wonderful anticipation of coming home to my mom and dad after a long day at work.

Because of all that has been happening, I've been a little remiss at recounting our adventures in my blog. But in order to share what's been going on, here are some highlights:

Last Saturday, my parents, Jules, Jojo and I spent the day exploring Temecula. We started the day off with a long drive through the city proper and along Rancho California Road to explore the wine region. It was a really nice, cool day and as we coasted along, my mom and I agreed that Temecula is such a wonderful place and one where we both would not mind settling down. Maybe one day when Jojo and I have enough money to retire in luxury! Our first stop was at a flea market located on the grounds of the Maurice Car'rie vineyards. Next stop was the gift and wine shop which is a great place for wine tasting, browsing for knick-knacks and even shopping for a picnic. It was pretty crowded though so after picking up some souvenir wine stoppers we headed three vineyards down the road to the Ponte Family Winery. Our plan was to have lunch at their patio restaurant called The Smokehouse. I love this place because of the food but moreso because of the ambiance. However, when we found out there was a 90-minute wait, we decided to go somewhere else. After picking up some homemade bottles of porcini/parmesan pesto at Ponte's wine shop, we drove 6-miles to Old Town Temecula.

Old Town is an interesting place with a small town feel. The streets are lined with antique shops, quaint restaurants and lovely Xmas decor right on the streetlamps and sidewalks. We had lunch at a Texas barbecue cafe which was completely taken over by a bunch of little league players and their families. The place was crowded and noisy and the food that was served in huge portions was typical American fare (my chili cheese burger was bland and a bit of a disappointment though). After lunch we walked down Main street and stopped by a Xmas shop called Harmony (I loved this place!) where I bought snowflake garlands for my Xmas tree. We browsed the Temecula Cheese Shop next door and then walked over to the Temecula Olive Oil Company where mom and Jules sampled various varities of the oil (and buying several bottles of the best ones). Our day in Temecula was capped off with rootbeer floats at the Rootbeer Company (where they sold over 300 varieties of soda!).

On our way home, we could not resist stopping by the Lake Elsinore shopping outlets. The night was cool and the place was brightly lit (it was their tree lighting ceremony) and so it was pleasant to walk around and get a headstart on Xmas shopping. There weren't that many stores with slashed prices but the biggest surprise of the night was the outrageous sale at Bath and Body Works. They were selling their lotions and creams (normally priced at $10.50) for less than $3.50 and their travel sized bottles (normally prices at $4.00) for $.99! And since I love Bath & Body, I went a little crazy in there! It was a quiet drive after that since we were all tired but happy on our way home.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Monday's High point: Our vacation begins ... and we had a gorgeous hotel!Low point: Leaving my hubby in LAWeather: Cloudy but no rain

Our week-long vacation started on Monday when my parents, Jules and I flew to Seattle. Everything proceeded smoothly, from our shuttle pick-up in LA, to the 2-hour and 11-minute flight, all the way to our shuttle ride to the hotel in Seattle. Since we arrived half-an-hour before check in, we passed the time with soup, chips and cocktails at a nearby Mexican cantina called Guaymas. Later on, we walked over to the Inn at Harbor Steps and checked in. I was extremely delighted with the Inn. First of all, it is so conveniently located to everything and there are so many shops and restaurants nearby. The Inn is a boutique hotel with only 30 rooms located on the first 2 floors of an apartment high-rise. All the rooms are elegantly done in muted colors, rich wood furniture, and Laura Ashley prints. Jules, (and later Jojo), plus myself were booked in a double room with a balcony that overlooked Elliot Bay, while my parents were in another wing of the Inn in a room that had a cozy hearth and fireplace. The Inn was a great blend of five-star hotel accommodations (great customer service and luxurious amenities) but was intimate enough to give us a bed-and-breakfast-like experience – complete with a continental breakfast spread every morning, wine and cheese before dinner, and an assortment of sodas and cookies throughout the day. Because of our wonderful accommodations, my brother dubbed this trip as “Living the Highlife” (which is true of any vacation you take with my parents) - and so “Living the Highlife” kind of became our mantra the whole time we were on vacation.

Tuesday Highlights: The Seafest dinner at The Crab PotLow point: Discovering that shops are closed by 6:00 PM everywhere in SeattleWeather: Cloudy but no rain

On Tuesday, we explored Pioneer Square which is a section of downtown that houses countless coffee shops, boutiques, and art galleries. My three favorite stores include:1.) The Elliot Bay Book Co. (an independently owned bookstore complete with creaking wooden floors, brick walls, cozy nooks for reading, and a wonderfully quaint ambience). I was so inspired by the place that I actually told my dad I’d like to own a shop like this one day – it must be wonderful to be in such a charming place surrounded by books and book-lovers all day!2.) The Glass House which showcased such beautiful pieces of glass-blown art. We got to see a demo of glass-blowing (which was literally pretty hot).3.) Fireworks an interesting store with a little something of everything (where my mom indulged in her shopping for Xmas tree ornaments and amusing knick-knacks).

After shopping we lined up at Salumi, a local deli owned by Armandino Batali, (the father of the famous Iron Chef and restauranteur Mario Batali). We picnicked at the Waterfall Garden Park and shared a salami platter (different varities of salami, cheeses, olives and bread). After lunch we headed to the Pike Market where I discovered that it was not nearly as big as I thought it would be. Even the fishstalls where the famous fish-throwing was pretty small. But it was a bustling place nonetheless with lots to see, hear, feel, taste and experience. We enjoyed freshly-baked piroshkys (which quickly became a family favorite). Piroshkys are a Ukranian treat somewhat similar to the Latin American empanada, the American chicken pie, the Chinese bbq pork bun, and the Indian samosa. It is a bread filled with either savory or sweet ingredients. My favorites were the beef and cheese, and the marzipan (made with creamy almond paste). After much walking around, and discovering that most stores in Seattle close by 6 PM, we headed to the Waterfront and had a clam/mussel/shrimp/crab-bake dinner at The Crab Pot. I loved that dinner – all that boiled seafood (dumped in a steaming pile in the center of our table) was so good, tasted so fresh, and was actually sort of creamy. The red potatoes, spicy sausages and corn were great side dishes too. We were a happy bunch with bibs around our necks, mallets in our hands, happily pounding on crab and mussels, working our way through the mound of seafood.

Wednesday Highlights: Jojo’s here and he got to join us for a vineyard and waterfall tourLow-Point: not enough chocolate samples at the Chocolate factoryWeather: Cloudy with scattered showers (luckily most of the rain happened while we were in the tourbus)

Our whole-day tour started when our tour guide (John) and his wife (Renee) picked us up at 9:30 in front of the Inn. Along with about a dozen other passengers we headed for the outskirts of the city and enjoyed serene and picturesque views of hills, waterfronts, and wildlife. Our first stop was the Columbia Winery in Woodinville where we got to tour their wine cellars and got to taste their award winning wines. We liked the Gewurztraminer (a dessert wine similar to Riesling) so much that we bought four bottles for our upcoming Thanksgiving dinner. Next door we also made a quick stop at the Chateu St. Michelle (another local vineyard with lovely grounds and is the oldest one in Washington state) and sampled their wines as well. We made a quick pitstop lunch at a local Texas bbq place for beef brisket and pulled pork sandwiches. Then it was off to see the Snoqualmie Falls ( a 250-feet waterfall) in Isaquah, Washington. The falls were nice to see but the weather was getting chilly for me so I spent more time in the giftshop than in the viewing platform. Our last stop of the day was Boehm’s Chocolate Factory where we got a tour of Joseph Boehm’s chalet, tasted his Belgian chocolates and purchased a few more for the road. We got back to Seattle past 5 and had a quiet dinner at Ivar’s (a fine-dining waterfront eatery that served so-so seafood).

Thursday Highlights: Ride the Ducks TourLow-Point: Not going up on the Space Needle since it was way too foggy to see anythingWeather: Cloudy and very foggy

We got to the Space Needle at around 10 but found it was too foggy to see anything so we headed across the street to the Ride the Ducks tour. The tour is on an amphibious vehicle (that runs about 30-miles an hour on land and even slower on water). We took the 90-minute tour with the hilarious Captain (Rocky Bottom) and got to see Seattle City and tour Lake Union (where we saw the famous houseboats – including the one featured in Sleepless in Seattle). By the time the tour was over, we were hungry and walked over to the Experience Music Project (EMP) and had sandwiches at the Revolution Café. Since it was still foggy after lunch, we took the Monorail over to the Westlake Center Mall and the Nordstrom flagship store. We spent the afternoon exploring the shopping sights of downtown Seattle. My folks headed back to the hotel while Jojo, Jules and I visited to the First Starbucks retail store and picked up piroshlys for dinner back at the hotel.

We decided to take the Metro and head to Chinatown to explore that part of the city. Somewhat surprising, Seattle’s Chinatown is very low-key and quite deserted - a far cry from most Chinatowns’ that are noisy, vibrant and busy. We explored Uwajimaya (the largest Japanese foodstore in the Northwest) and walked 8 long, agonizing blocks to O Asian for dimsum. The food at O Asian was very good (I especially liked their steamed spareribs and the spinach noodles). The place was located close to the financial district so it was a bit subdued and more fine-dining compared to most dimsum houses. On our walk back to our hotel we stopped by huge and very modern structure that housed the Seattle Central Public Library. We then walked down to Rainier Square (or what I call the fancy part of town) to browse the Louis Vuitton and Coach shops and to find the Newhaus Chocolatier on Fourth Street. My friend, Ayesha, who used to live in Seattle said a visit to this chocolate boutique was a must and so we did (purchasing Belgian chocolates and enjoying hot chocolate drinks). The walk back to the hotel although long was much easier since it was all downhill!

Saturday Highlights: Meeting Auntie Edna and Deanna and my cousins Darren and Heather for the first timeLow Point: the inauthentic Native American meal at Tillicum VillageWeather: Drizzled in the early morning but it actually became sunny the rest of the day

On Saturday, we boarded the Argosy Cruise line for a 45-minute ride to Tillicum Village on Blake Island. The ride was pleasant enough and the views were really amazing (I liked seeing the Seattle skyline from the water on one side and the views of mountain ranges and wildlife on the other). We arrived on the island and were greeted with steaming bowls of clams in sweet broth (great way to ward off the cold). We lined up for a salmon buffet lunch supposedly cooked the Native American way (on alderwood planks secured with spikes). But it was not very authentic because the salmon was farm raised (not wild) and brushed with lemon butter (which Native Americans probably did not use). The rest of the buffet was ok (long grain wild rice, dark brown sweet bread, red potatoes and leafy green salad veggies). After our meal we watched a tribal dance that told the story of Chief Seattle and his band of Indians and their tribe’s ties with nature. It was interesting (and so timely since I just finished Jim Ferguson’s novel about the Cheyenne Indians). We had half an hour to walk around Blake Island (but it was so cold that we stayed close to the lodge and our ship). At around 4 we boarded the ship and cruised back to Seattle.

We met my mom’s cousins Auntie Edna and Auntie Deanna for dinner along with Auntie Edna’s son Darren and his wife Heather. It was really nice meeting them – considering my mom has not seen Auntie Edna in 40 years (and I’ve never met any of them before). We had dinner at Anthony’s on Pier 66 (another fancy place where the food was good but nothing great). I had the grilled wild salmon over a butternut squash risotto and shared a wild berry something for dessert. Over dinner there was a lot of catching up and exchanging of stories, so while the food was nothing memorable, the company certainly was.

Sunday’s Highlights: No highlight since it was the end of our vacationLow Point: Our flight was delayed for 5 hours!Weather: Cloudy up till our drive to the airport then it started to rain (while we were in the shuttle)

Sunday we went to mass at the St. James Cathedral (a really beautiful church in downtown Seattle). Our family was even chosen to participate in the mass by offering the collection and the bread and wine. After mass, we walked back to do some last minute packing and to check out of the Inn. We had a quick lunch at Ipanema, a Brazilian place next to the Inn, while waiting for the shuttle to take us to the airport. Our flight was suppose to leave at 5:05 pm but because of a delay, we left Seattle at 7 pm. We were suppose to arrive at 7 pm, but instead were re-routed to the Ontario Airport at around 9:30 pm (there was too much fog over LA and the plane could not land in LAX). We waited 3 hours (inside the plane because we were not allowed to disembark in Ontario) and finally took off for LA at about 12:30. We arrived in LA, at almost 1 AM and by the time we got our luggage and drove home, it was just past 2 AM. So far that was the only bummer to an otherwise “Living the Highlife” vacation.